Your Smartphone Makes You Work an Extra Two Hours per Day

Most people with smartphones can no longer imagine their lives without it. But new research suggests these devices are making us work up to two extra hours per day.

A study conducted by technology retailer Pixmania in the UK found that office workers who own smartphones check their devices for messages an average of 20 times per day outside of work, resulting in 10 to 12 hour days. Two-thirds of employees check their devices right before bed and as soon as they wake up, while more than one third have replied to a work-related message in the middle of the night.

The extra hours worked outside of the office add up to an average of 460 per year. One in 10 smartphone-toting employees spend up to three hours per day, or up to 800 hours per year, working via their handets during off-hours.

"Many companies expect their employees to be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and smartphones mean that people literally cannot get away from work," said Ghadi Hobeika, marketing director of Pixmania. "The more constantly in contact we become, the more is expected of us in a work capacity."

More than 90% of workers surveyed own a smartphone, which means this over-working habit is widespread. With easy access to email everywhere one goes - not to mention push notifications - these devices are as convenient as they are menacing. And it's hard to resist: nine out of 10 workers with smartphones can't help but check their devices for work purposes at least once per day outside of the office.

And according to a separate srudy conducted by TripAdvisor, a majority of workers also check their smartphones while on vacation.

Rob Lewis

Rob is the President of Techvibes Media and Editor-in-Chief of Techvibes.com.
His diverse background includes stints in International Trade Finance, Web Development, and Enterprise Software and he is a graduate of the University of British Columbia, British Columbia Institute of Technology, and Simon Fraser University.
When not running Canada's leading technology media property, Rob can be...
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